Half a Map Is Better Than None
Half a Map is Better Than None is the second segment in the first episode of The Get Along Gang cartoon series. The episode was first aired on CBS on September 15, 1984. Summary A captain praised Dotty Dog for helping straighten up his archives, and rewarded her with an old book titled The Lost Treasure of the Mole-Tecs, which she showed Portia Porcupine as Dotty left the archives. The book mentioned the Mole-Tecs were in an ancient civilization and the treasure is buried just outside of Green Meadow and was never found by anyone. The rest of the gang are now seen cleaning out the Clubhouse Caboose, and Bingo lays a box full of stuff on the grass. As Dotty continues reading the legend, Dotty trips over the box, causing the book to fly into the air, and land on the ground. Montgomery Moose picks up the book, and discovers a treasure map inside the book. Meanwhile, the archnemeses, Catchum Crocodile and his sidekick Leland Lizard are playing several rounds of tic-tac-toe, and after Leland repeatedly wins, Catchum throws a fit as he hates the game, and destroys the stick Leland uses to draw his Xs. Catchum wants to play basketball, claiming he can bet Leland at that sport. Leland claims they do not have a basketball, but Catchum decides to borrow one from the Get Along Gang. Leland convinces Catchum that it is useless, since he and Catchum won’t return it. Catchum agrees, and is why the bullies won’t tell them. The bullies crawl over to the Clubhouse Caboose, while Montgomery studies the map, and recognizes most of the landmarks, but doesn’t see how they would find the treasure. Catchum overhears about the treasure, and Dotty reads on the reverse of the map “at one o’clock, the shadow of the truth then take two short steps, and jump. Woolma proclaims "Treasure, here we come!" Catchum and Leland are on a tree branch, with a toilet plunger on a fishing line, lowered for the purpose of stealing the treasure map while the Get Along Gang are getting prepared for their excursion. As Catchum was reeling in the treasure map, the weight of Catchum is causing the branch to start breaking apart. The plunger retrieved Rocco Rabbit, who was taking a nap on the Caboose’s control panel. But after the branch collapsed, the bullies fall into the caboose, and try to retrieve the map, sparking a fight with the Get Along Gang. Catchum was trying to swipe the map from Montgomery, but tore into half, and Catchum walked away, claiming that half a map is better than none. Zipper threatened to attack Leland, who in turn ran away. Montgomery had a strategy on how to find the treasure, and as the gang launched their excursion, the sleeping Rocco floated into the air and fell to the ground. The gang have arrived to a nearby mountain and it was nearly one o’clock so they had to hurry to the desired location. Woolma mentioned it can’t be the location, as Montgomery claimed, as there isn’t a tree in sight. But a sunbeam quickly traveled through a tree-shaped opening in a piece of rock, which produced a shadow. Montgomery took two short steps, but discovered there was nowhere to jump to. Montgomery apologized to his fellow gang members, and claimed he must have gotten it all wrong, but his hand rested on a door, which spun around and dragged the gang into a cave. The gang members tumbled down a slope and landed on the bottom of the cave, but Montgomery got stuck between two rocks, thanks to his antlers. Bingo’s tail helped free Montgomery from the rocks, and decide to resume hunting for the treasure. Now, Catchum and Leland are trying to locate the treasure themselves. Catchum takes two steps and jump, as per the instructions, but flew into a rock and deflected the bullies to an area near where the Get Along Gang are finding the treasure. The bullies finally discover the secret passageway and enter. Inside the cave, the gang are observing the ancient sculptures. Woolma referenced one of the sculptures as "a pretty scary picture". Montgomery decides to find another tunnel as they are in a dead end. As the gang head in the direction of the bullies, Catchum holds a balloon in his hand, which is part of his latest tactic. Montgomery informs the gang to keep a sharp eye out for the treasure. Portia is scared, but Bingo talks her out of it. But a balloon depicting a ghost is designed to scare the gang away. Strangely enough, Portia wasn’t scared, but Bingo was and decided to flee. Montgomery senses something suspicious, and recognizes the voice of the ghost as that of Catchum’s. Montgomery deflated the balloon, which flew away from the gang and carried the bullies with them further down the cave. Finally, the gang have successfully found the treasure. Montgomery uses a rock to spring the lock to open the chest. The bullies swipe the chest before Montgomery does, and thanks to a trap, a rope is used to trip the bullies up, but the rope snapped, and below the bullies’ feet, a floor sprung open like a jack-in-the-box, but the treasure and the bullies were hanging upside down and were screaming for help. The ropes are about to snap and while there is only a mere seconds remaining before Catchum and Leland get hurt, the gang form a chain to rescue the bullies, even if meant forfeiting the treasure. After a successful rescue, Bingo’s tail had inadvertently opened a door that revealed a golden statue. Catchum vowed he would never play any more dirty tricks again, but the treasure chest fell to the bottom of the pit, and the Get Along Gang were shocked, but luckily it contained spears which flew out as the chest opened after hitting the pit. The treasure turned out to be a booby trap, but the real treasure was found – a golden statue. Catchum wanted to retrieve it, but Montgomery warned him it held the ceiling up. But the ceiling caved in, and the Gang had to escape, but Catchum refused to leave without his treasure. After rocks rolled towards them, Catchum had a change of heart and decided to do the right thing and flee. After successfully fleeing, the rocks had barred off the cave’s entrance. Back at the Clubhouse Caboose, Montgomery was applying bandages to an injured Catchum, and explained the treasure was meant for people to view, and not designed to touch. Catchum learned a valuable lesson, but Bingo found a silver dollar by the toy box, which Catchum pilfered from Bingo’s hand, and leaves the Caboose, causing the Get Along Gang to chase after the bullies. Trivia *This is the only appearance of Rocco Rabbit with a voice role - if in the form of a brief grunt. *This episode has the first appearances of the Gang's archenemies, Catchum Crocodile and Leland Lizard. *This episode's plot may be loosely based on the 1982 Little Rascals animated episode "The Irate Pirates", only the Rascals episode was set on a beach and out to sea and involved, of course, pirates. Errors *After Catchum and Leland bounced off the rock and landed towards the area where the Get Along Gang were inside the cave, when Catchum said "It’s the Get Along Gang!", Catchum’s mouth never moved as he spoke. Starring * Bettina Bush - Dotty Dog * Timothy Gibbs - Catchum Crocodile * Georgi Irene - Woolma Lamb * Nick Katt - Leland Lizard * Robbie Lee - Zipper Cat * Sherry Lynn - Portia Porcupine * Sparky Marcus - Montgomery Moose, Captain, Rocco Rabbit (grunt) * Scott Menville - Bingo Beaver Category:Episodes